Controlled vocabularies have been introduced to help end-users know which search words to use when they want to find information electronically. This minimizes the "hit or miss" frustration of open searches. A standard set of keywords are assigned to objects, and information providers make these keywords available to end-users through online catalogs or through hardcopy references. To help end-users devise a search strategy some of these controlled vocabularies organize keywords hierarchically using a set of codes assigned to each keyword.
Prior art in using a dictionary of keywords (Millett et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,036) discloses the means to apply Boolean logic, "AND", "OR" and "NOT" conditions, on keywords to retrieve information. Priest (U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,011) discloses the means to present a controlled vocabulary graphically to enhance the user interface to functions on a computer. And Berry et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,235) organize keywords into a plurality of classes and locations within information objects to make a search more efficient. But none of these prior disclosures present a comprehensive way to integrate a controlled vocabulary in an end-user menu interface.
Zellweger has disclosed the means to create a content menu structure for an information system (U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,125) and for a database management system (Ser. No. 09/033,774). He has also disclosed the means for producing a menu structure that end-users navigate to generate a program code (Ser. No. 09/033,775). Oren et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,117) discloses the means to produce an interface that end-users navigate to retrieve objects. However, none of these prior disclosures involve managing information that is mediated by a controlled vocabulary that is hierarchically-oriented.